Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Confusion, Consolidation, Consolation

After some initial confusion about my appointment schedule - that took a half hour to correct - I finally saw the doctor. His attitude was upbeat and contagious. He immediately detected my anxiety and asked if I wanted a higher dosage of the anxiety med; he thought it would help. I agreed to give it a shot.

The white cells are very low which is why I have that big purple blotch on my face. It’s a bruise. I must have hit myself as I tossed and turned sometime overnight. It’s not KS after all. That’s a relief.

I was to begin the 4th and final cycle of Chemo next Tuesday, but he wants to put it off another week to see how my body recovers on its own. Especially with the holiday, I’d get only 4 treatments in before the next weekend then have 3 more days to follow up. He thought the interval was too long. So instead of starting on 2 September, I will begin again on 8 September, if necessary. I hope it isn’t. But, it is what it is.

Also, since I’ve got one more Neupogen injection tomorrow, he scheduled a unit of whole blood to carry me through the holiday weekend. The whole blood along with the Neupogen shots should give my immune system the needed boost to play catchup, if it is ever going to do that.

He mentioned a possible evaluation of my situation at Sloan Kettering on the upper east side of NYC. Seems they’re the only independent CC doing studies related to my particular cancer. The research nurse learned of the study, is checking into the possibilities, and will let me know.

There’s no easy way to get to NYC from here, so it would probably turn into a 3 day affair, unless I can find someone to take me to the Amtrak station in Wilmington and bring me back home. The doctor would prefer that someone was with me just in case, but that’s not going to happen. There just isn’t anyone.

Anyway, living in the present, with the Neupogen shots and the additional blood transfusion I should be good to go for the holiday weekend. No, I won’t be stupid enough to go out into large crowds, but I will be at the post-Labor Day party on Monday afternoon at Stoney Lonen.

I promise to try and stay away from anybody hacking or coughing. No, I will not wear a mask. Linda will make sure my immune system is protected with shots of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, or whatever else Chester has up his mixologist sleeve.

I bought some naked ground beef and plan to spice and herb it up, form it into patties, have a hamburger for supper tonight, and freeze the rest. It’s been a while since I’ve had a real beef burger. I haven’t got much of an appetite and no sense of taste, but maybe my taste-memory will kick in and make the meal enjoyable. May it be so.

I've been a little absent and involved with off-line in "life stuff" but I wanted you to know I'm all caught up with you now and still here, happy to see you still sharing all of it: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Thank you, Sassy. BTW, My comments are no longer appearing on your pages. At least the last 3 or 4 have disappeared into the ether. Am I forbidden to comment on your words? *snif* I don't have your email, or I'd write to complain to the management.

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Finding my way in a crazy world. This place is all about me. My likes, dislikes, politics, passions, and opinions. I am liberal to a fault. I smile a lot. I’m just myself. That’s weird enough. No regrets and no apologies. Pull up a chair and hang out a while, if you like. Comments are always welcome; all I ask is that you be courteous.